Simulation and economic analysis of bioethanol production by enzymatic hydrolysis of microalgae using <scp>SuperPro Designer</scp> ®

Abstract This study integrates kinetic modeling in AQUASIM with SuperPro Designer® simulation to investigate the techno‐economics of bioethanol production from microalgae. For the first time, kinetic models supported by SuperPro Designer® were developed for bioethanol production from enzymatic hydrolysis products of mixed microalgae. Comparative techno‐economic evaluations were conducted on dry and wet processing routes for microalgae. Key economic indicators (net present value, internal rate of return [IRR], payback time) and variable sensitivities were investigated. The agreement of experimental and simulation results using SuperPro Designer® showed the highest reducing sugar yield with cellulase (50 °C, pH 5), alpha‐amylase (70 °C, pH 6), at the optimal initial concentration of 50 g L −1 . Simultaneous enzyme addition accelerates hydrolysis and improves process economics. The techno‐economic analysis revealed that the wet biomass strategy, by removing harvesting, drying, and milling steps, reduced both CAPEX and OPEX by $1000 per batch. This modification also reduced the production cycle from 209.1 to 154.3 h. Sensitivity analysis found that ±5% changes in bioethanol price and ±10% shifts in annual throughput caused corresponding variations in IRR and payback time. Despite these changes, the wet biomass strategy consistently maintains an IRR above the economic threshold (10%). These findings underscore the superior economic viability of the wet biomass strategy for industrial bioethanol production.